Iran says it will resume enrichment of uranium it it is reported to Security Council

Iran ratcheted up its confrontation with the West on Wednesday, with its president lashing out at the United States and Europe as "bully countries" a day before a key meeting that could put Iran before the &to=http://english.pravda.ru/diplomatic/2001/11/14/20873.html' target=_blank>U.N. Security Council.

Tehran's top nuclear negotiator said Iran would resume large-scale uranium enrichment in response, warning that its main enrichment plant at Natanz was ready for full operation.

Iran provoked an outcry on Jan. 10 when it broke U.N. seals at the facility to begin research-level enrichment, a process that can produce material for nuclear reactors or, if sufficiently processed, atomic weapons.

"Natanz is ready for work. We only need to notify the &to=http://english.pravda.ru/main/2003/01/03/41567.html' target=_blank>IAEA that we are resuming (large-scale) enrichment. When we do that is our call. If they (report Iran to the Security Council), we will do it quickly," negotiator Ali Larijani said.